With high-intensity interval training (HIIT) well established on fitness club timetables, one big challenge is how to keep things fresh. Inspiration is now on-hand in the shape of fusion classes. Kath Hudson reports
By Kath Hudson | Published in Health Club Management 2017 issue 5
Cranking up yoga Combining two popular exercise forms, HIIT Yoga provides a workout for both the body and mind, boosts the metabolism, deepens stretches and gets the endorphins going. The HIIT element of the workout is a combination of lower and upper body movements using your own body weight, including press-ups, squats, burpees and mountain climbers. Only 20 minutes of the class is spent on HIIT, so there’s no rest and you’re worked really hard.
Yoga teacher Kate O’Reilly and PT Sasha Green have collaborated to create this concept, which is currently on offer in their studio in south-west London, UK. The pair also have plans for an online programme, events across London – then nationwide – and also classes for corporates.
O’Reilly says: “Sasha and I love both forms of exercise, but we know how busy people are: many people just do one or the other as they don’t have time for both separately. We therefore wanted to create something that combined them in one hour, to get as many people as possible doing both HIIT and yoga.”
According to O’Reilly, the benefits of combining the two disciplines are many, including a fat-burning boost to the metabolism thanks to switching between high intensity and yoga. Proper stretching is another, as she says: “How often do you properly stretch out? Not enough people do, and it can result in injury. By bringing yoga and HIIT together, we’re ensuring muscles are stretched throughout the workout to protect people from stiffness and injury.”
Bringing HIIT and yoga together helps prevent injury
Mindful HIIT “Meditation doesn’t always have to happen with our legs crossed and eyes closed,” says US-based personal trainer Holly Rilinger, who has created LIFTED, a class combining HIIT with meditation. “We aren’t always in the perfect place to meditate. We’re crazed, running around, breathless. This class mimics the rhythm of life and helps us become more resilient and ready to tackle our challenges.”
The class comprises a five-minute guided meditation followed by 35 minutes of mindful movement – where you really focus on the exercises you’re doing – including lunges, squats and other standard training moves. After this there’s another five minutes of meditation, followed by an intense 10-minute finisher.
Rilinger says meditation has brought calm and space to her life and for years has used it as part of her indoor cycling class: “We have a limited amount of time to dedicate to our wellness in terms of fitness classes and gym time, and the likelihood of someone giving up his or her cycling or HIIT class to meditate is slim.
“This is why I created LIFTED, which not only combines meditation with a fat-burning workout, but also reminds us to be present. This is a mind, body and spirit workout. We can’t separate the three, so why not train them all in unison. Be present, be sweaty and create joy.”
PHOTO: Abbey Drucker
LIFTED combines meditation
with a mindful HIIT workout
Redefining the pool HIIT training in water, SwimHiit, was introduced by Swimtime at LIW 2016 in a bid to bring different kinds of user groups into the pool.
The concept uses moves from martial arts, yoga and pilates, as well as weights and deep stretches, to supercharge the aquatic exercise experience – all driven by the fact that water 12 is times more resistant than air. But because there’s no pressure on the joints, people can work harder without worrying about aches and pains.
Swimtime is now offering training in SwimHiit as CPD to those instructors who have an aquacise qualification or the equivalent.
SwimHiit uses moves from martial arts, yoga and pilates
Punchy pilates In January, Bootcamp Pilates launched a 30-minute high intensity pilates class at its central London studio. HIIP 30 incorporates movements from its regular dynamic class, but condensed into a half-hour time frame so you can squeeze it into a lunch hour.
Curated to achieve maximum results in a short period of time, the exercises are focused on flexibility, co-ordination and balance to leave individuals fitter, leaner and stronger.
“We’ve added this express class to fit in with hectic London lifestyles,” says Dominique Day, founder of Bootcamp Pilates. “Sometimes you just don’t want to work out after a long day in the office, and the new HIIP 30 enables people to maximise 30 minutes of their lunch break.”
People can fit the new 30-minute
HIIP class into their lunch break
Hardcore HIIT If you’re doing a HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout with your personal trainer, electronic muscle stimulation (EMS) can bring an effective, although hardcore, new dimension to your workout.
EMS involves being hooked up to a device that sends electrical impulses to your muscles. The exerciser must first tense their muscles; the electrical impulses then cause the muscles to work even harder. Even undertaking gentle squats, leg raises and standing ab crunches wearing an EMS suit counts as a workout, so wearing one throughout a HIIT workout can be very intense – and indeed should be supervised by a personal trainer, say the manufacturers.
Jan Ising, business development manager at Easy Motion Skin, explains: “Several personal trainers and gyms are using EMS to optimise the efficiency of their clients’ workouts. However, a HIIT EMS workout should only be done in sessions controlled by a professional trainer. If you push your body to the absolute limit, you shouldn’t do it alone.”
Using an EMS suit during a HIIT workout can be intense and should only be done alongside a PT
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
Seed To Skin
Founded by Jeanette Thottrup in 2018, in Tuscany, Seed to Skin is an award winning skincare line. [more...]
Living Earth Crafts
For over 50 years, LEC has been manufacturing award-winning spa equipment for the world’s finest spas [more...]
With high-intensity interval training (HIIT) well established on fitness club timetables, one big challenge is how to keep things fresh. Inspiration is now on-hand in the shape of fusion classes. Kath Hudson reports
By Kath Hudson | Published in Health Club Management 2017 issue 5
Cranking up yoga Combining two popular exercise forms, HIIT Yoga provides a workout for both the body and mind, boosts the metabolism, deepens stretches and gets the endorphins going. The HIIT element of the workout is a combination of lower and upper body movements using your own body weight, including press-ups, squats, burpees and mountain climbers. Only 20 minutes of the class is spent on HIIT, so there’s no rest and you’re worked really hard.
Yoga teacher Kate O’Reilly and PT Sasha Green have collaborated to create this concept, which is currently on offer in their studio in south-west London, UK. The pair also have plans for an online programme, events across London – then nationwide – and also classes for corporates.
O’Reilly says: “Sasha and I love both forms of exercise, but we know how busy people are: many people just do one or the other as they don’t have time for both separately. We therefore wanted to create something that combined them in one hour, to get as many people as possible doing both HIIT and yoga.”
According to O’Reilly, the benefits of combining the two disciplines are many, including a fat-burning boost to the metabolism thanks to switching between high intensity and yoga. Proper stretching is another, as she says: “How often do you properly stretch out? Not enough people do, and it can result in injury. By bringing yoga and HIIT together, we’re ensuring muscles are stretched throughout the workout to protect people from stiffness and injury.”
Bringing HIIT and yoga together helps prevent injury
Mindful HIIT “Meditation doesn’t always have to happen with our legs crossed and eyes closed,” says US-based personal trainer Holly Rilinger, who has created LIFTED, a class combining HIIT with meditation. “We aren’t always in the perfect place to meditate. We’re crazed, running around, breathless. This class mimics the rhythm of life and helps us become more resilient and ready to tackle our challenges.”
The class comprises a five-minute guided meditation followed by 35 minutes of mindful movement – where you really focus on the exercises you’re doing – including lunges, squats and other standard training moves. After this there’s another five minutes of meditation, followed by an intense 10-minute finisher.
Rilinger says meditation has brought calm and space to her life and for years has used it as part of her indoor cycling class: “We have a limited amount of time to dedicate to our wellness in terms of fitness classes and gym time, and the likelihood of someone giving up his or her cycling or HIIT class to meditate is slim.
“This is why I created LIFTED, which not only combines meditation with a fat-burning workout, but also reminds us to be present. This is a mind, body and spirit workout. We can’t separate the three, so why not train them all in unison. Be present, be sweaty and create joy.”
PHOTO: Abbey Drucker
LIFTED combines meditation
with a mindful HIIT workout
Redefining the pool HIIT training in water, SwimHiit, was introduced by Swimtime at LIW 2016 in a bid to bring different kinds of user groups into the pool.
The concept uses moves from martial arts, yoga and pilates, as well as weights and deep stretches, to supercharge the aquatic exercise experience – all driven by the fact that water 12 is times more resistant than air. But because there’s no pressure on the joints, people can work harder without worrying about aches and pains.
Swimtime is now offering training in SwimHiit as CPD to those instructors who have an aquacise qualification or the equivalent.
SwimHiit uses moves from martial arts, yoga and pilates
Punchy pilates In January, Bootcamp Pilates launched a 30-minute high intensity pilates class at its central London studio. HIIP 30 incorporates movements from its regular dynamic class, but condensed into a half-hour time frame so you can squeeze it into a lunch hour.
Curated to achieve maximum results in a short period of time, the exercises are focused on flexibility, co-ordination and balance to leave individuals fitter, leaner and stronger.
“We’ve added this express class to fit in with hectic London lifestyles,” says Dominique Day, founder of Bootcamp Pilates. “Sometimes you just don’t want to work out after a long day in the office, and the new HIIP 30 enables people to maximise 30 minutes of their lunch break.”
People can fit the new 30-minute
HIIP class into their lunch break
Hardcore HIIT If you’re doing a HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout with your personal trainer, electronic muscle stimulation (EMS) can bring an effective, although hardcore, new dimension to your workout.
EMS involves being hooked up to a device that sends electrical impulses to your muscles. The exerciser must first tense their muscles; the electrical impulses then cause the muscles to work even harder. Even undertaking gentle squats, leg raises and standing ab crunches wearing an EMS suit counts as a workout, so wearing one throughout a HIIT workout can be very intense – and indeed should be supervised by a personal trainer, say the manufacturers.
Jan Ising, business development manager at Easy Motion Skin, explains: “Several personal trainers and gyms are using EMS to optimise the efficiency of their clients’ workouts. However, a HIIT EMS workout should only be done in sessions controlled by a professional trainer. If you push your body to the absolute limit, you shouldn’t do it alone.”
Using an EMS suit during a HIIT workout can be intense and should only be done alongside a PT
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
Global luxury hospitality brand, Six Senses, has partnered with longevity healthcare provider,
HUM2N, to launch a clinic at Six Senses London, at The Whiteley.
As part of its first hotel partnership, Mayrlife – the medical health resort company known for its
site in Altaussee, Austria – has launched a day clinic at the Rosewood Vienna.
Premium London health club, KX Chelsea, will imminently unveil its most significant
redevelopment since its launch in 2002 to create an integrated wellness model combining
training, recovery and relaxation.
Rosewood Le Guanahani St Barth, on the northeast coast of Saint Barthélemy in the French
West Indies, is offering a programme of ocean-inspired yoga classes between 8-14 June to
celebrate Global Wellness Day (GWD).
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
The Ritz-Carlton, Langkawi, in Malaysia, has revealed a schedule for Global Wellness Day
(GWD) that includes guided rainforest walks, mindful movement and guided coastal meditation
experiences.
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
Seed To Skin Founded by Jeanette Thottrup in 2018, in Tuscany, Seed to Skin is an award winning skincare line. [more...]
